• Mission

• Background

• Rural Business Development Assistance & Financing Programs

• Rural Land Preservation Programs

Mission

The primary mission of MARBIDCO is to assist Maryland’s farm, forestry, seafood and recreation-based businesses to achieve profitability and sustainability by providing targeted services that help retain existing Ag/RBI production and commerce, promote rural entrepreneurship, and nurture emerging industries.

Background

Over a period of many years, the State’s agricultural, forestry, and seafood industries have been steadily declining while at the same time Maryland’s rural working landscapes have also been disappearing. To help remedy this situation, in 2004 the Governor and General Assembly established the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) as a quasi-public corporation broadly authorized to:

1. Develop agricultural industries and markets;

2. Support appropriate commercialization of agricultural processes and technology;

3. Assist with rural land preservation efforts; and

4. Alleviate the shortage of nontraditional capital and credit available at affordable interest rates for investment in agricultural and resource-based businesses.

In short, MARBIDCO’s mission is to help Maryland’s farm, forest, and seafood businesses achieve sustainable viability and profitability now and into the future.

Recently, with Maryland’s rural heritage industries under continuing threat from global market competition and land development pressure, sustainable public investment in MARBIDCO became a top priority for the State. Developed with input from a number of stakeholders, MARBIDCO’s “core” loan and business development programs are designed to uniquely help fill an important rural development void. Thanks to the strong support of The Governer and General Assembly, the FY2009 State Budget includes $3.25 million for MARBIDCO’s core programs, with additional annual funding in the $3-4 million range expected to be provided going forward.

In addition to the core development programs, the Maryland General Assembly has authorized MARBIDCO to assist with rural land perservation.

With a significant financial investment from the State now available, the MARBIDCO Board of Directors has approved the offering of eight targeted low-interest loan and rural business development programs this year that are designed to take full advantage of the Corporation’s nimble and strategic capability to leverage affordable rural business financing, assist with alternative or value-added enterprise development, and support the next generation of producers. A special focus of the corporation is assisting innovative business enterprises and start-up operations which tend to have a level of risk exposure that commercial lenders find unacceptable without third-party participation or mitigation. This is where the MARBIDCO programs can be of tangible benefit to rural entrepreneurs and commercial lenders alike.

Examples of innovative business activities and enterprises include on-farm and value-added food processing, niche product development and marketing, smaller scale secondary wood products manufacturing, and business-related technology enhancements (especially those related to energy efficiency). The Corporation’s aim is to help agricultural and resource-based businesses to innovate, diversify and exploit emerging market opportunities in food and fiber production and in rural tourism and recreation.

Read more about MARBIDCO Loan and Business Assistance Programs